it's good to be the king...revisited...

16x12 oil on stretched canvas

so i revisited my lion friend...he needed to fit better in his space with a better value arrangement. i darkened some of the background while lightening other areas.  now..looking at this, i can see something else i need to change...more tomorrow...



little gianna....

24x18 oil on stretched canvas

so this is gianna...for some reason i called her gabby when i posted this in progress...but i know this is gianna...she's a delightful and funny child...really gonna break some hearts one day!...i think i'm finished...i haven't put this into photoshop yet - i may tinker a bit with it but maybe not...



"Lyla Jane"

6x6 oil on prepared panel

so this is lyla jane...not faison...as i announced earlier...she has a very special look and i'm hoping i captured it...i was working on a panel of masonite that i prepared with a couple layers of gesso - not sure about the surface...

"It's Good to be the King"

16x12 oil on stretched canvas

so here's my lion...i came across this bad bay the other day in my studio and i got real excited...i really wanted to paint him!!..and i just love this!! - don't know what i'll do with him but i had a lot of fun painting this gorgeous beast!!! ..i delivered carolyn's painting of ethan today - she seemed very happy and that's the whole point of this "grand" project!!

"Catch of the Day"

6x6 oil on prepared board

so this is a small painting i'm donating to my high school..of all things...they're finally moving and having a big fund raiser which i won't be able to attend.  so i thought this might do.  actually i love this image and i may do another larger painting down the road.

Ethan...

6x6 oil on prepared panel

so this is my friend carolyn's grandson, ethan.  what a cutie pie! - i've been working on getting some of these finished - i have a family of four kids - their mom bought my donation to last year's kids commons fundraiser...and it's already this year and another fundraiser has come and gone and, since she wanted all her kids painted, i decided i'd better get it accomplished.  the girls were done long ago and i've been working on the boys - she said "no hurry" ..but you really can't say that to me, can you...



gianna...in progress...

ok ..so this is gianna - and she already had her first birthday!!!  i am very tardy with this painting, i'm afraid!!...she's sitting in a big chair in our place in georgia - lots of stripes - needed to let a bit of the chair color dry before i added the stripes...and maybe there needs to be more shadow over her face - according to the photo i'm working from...stay tuned...

pears, grapes and a nice white jug

11x14 oil on panel

so i worked a bit more on this today - i got some feedback from other artists around the world and tried to implement their advice.  that's what's so fun about this workshop - making friends from faraway places...

Pears, Grapes and a Nice White Jug

11x14 oil on canvas panel

so i finally had some time to do this month's richard robinson challenge.  we had to set up a still life including a peaar and grapes and a white pitcher of some sort.  i guess i may have gone a bit overboard but i had a great deal of fun with this.  i tried maroger medium for the first time and loved it!  and the best part:...davey saw this and said "that's nice.  those aren't just pears..you have a lot of complexity going on"...wow! - my boy!!...and i already see something i have to fix. rats!! more tomorrow!

busy, busy

20x16 oil on stretched canvas 

i have just been too busy in these last few days to get any painting done!! - but busy in a good way! - i'm finally attacking my studio..organizing my reference photos..my still life props...my paints...my art books...and it is a disaaaaaaster!! - i'm not sure i can keep it up - i may have to get back to the easel before i finish...but then that's always been my problem...i'm in the middle of something and then i see something else that needs to be done - and...whoops - there i go...very tangential and somewhat project-completion challenged!!..i discovered a new antique mall today and got some great stuff - can't wait to put some things together - richard robinson has a still life challenge for this month - and we can do anything we want - i posted my "glass of red" on the site but only because i had already done it...i'm planning to do a proper challenge painting in the next week or two!...meanwhile...i think i forgot to post this painting of my grandson joe - it's hanging at the carmel midland and it's called "Hangin' out at the Beach"

"Glass of Red"

7x5 oil on canvas panel

this is the painting i will be donating to our local philharmonic fundraiser.  they're having a gala wine auction and i'm pitching in since i know i can't get my hubby to attend the black tie affair.

"ON POINT"

20x16 oil on stretched canvas

here's another in my ballet series...currently hanging in the carmel midland gallery...i am having such fun with these!!...i have several more images i want to explore...can't wait!

cloud study

cloud study

11x14 oil on canvas panel

so here's the painting i should have done a couple weeks ago.  i took an on-line webinar from johannes vloothuis on clouds.  you can do a painting as "homework" and submit it for critique.  i've been so busy i missed my chance to do that but here it is finally...i may be able to submit it and at least hear from some of the other artists involved on wet canvas, a wonderful on-line reference site for artists of all kinds! i really shold photograph this again - you can see a little area at the top right that isn't part of the painting - it's part of the surroundings. - a bit confusing...

Tying her Shoe

11x14

oil on stretched canvas

here's another of several ballet paintings i've done lately- i took a few up to carmel midland last week...don't know why i'm so enthralled with ballet at the moment...taking me back to my childhood, i'm thinking...but i'm having a lot of fun.  i did a painting today that will be donated to our philharmonic.  they are having a big wine auction and gala next month and i'm doing a little painting of wine and grapes.  we'll see how it turns out...

Christian Watford...the shot!

20x16 oil on canvas

so this is the shot that beat kentucky! - i was really hoping to turn this into a poster ..and i may yet...but i found out that there are ncaa rules that prohibit anything like this while the student is still in school.  so i'll hang in the weeds...and wait...

Tiny Dancers

18x24

oil on stretched canvas

here's one of the paintings i've been working on for the carmel midland gallery...little girls dressed up for ballet...fun!  i finally got to get some photos taken so i'll post more new stuff in the coming days.  i need to get back to my house - i've neglected it for a while!!!  but i'm having such fun painting my heart out!!!

i've been working...

6x6 oil on panel

here's another georgia sea turtle...on it's way to the glynn art gallery on st. simons...they're having a fund raiser for the humane society and i hope to help out!...i have another one to post tomorrow.  plus...i'm trying to get some things done to replace some paintings sold in my carmel gallery - we're heading up there friday and it's work..work..work!  too dark today to photograph when i finished so i'll get at that tomorrow!..i'm kind of liking how things are going....

a georgia sea turtle

Georgia Sea Turtle #3

8x10 oil on stretched canvas

one of my galleries on st simons' island is holding a fund raiser.  i'm going to send down two sea turtle paintings and part of any sales will go to the humane society.  as i've mentioned, the sea turtle is revered on the island and i hope he'll bring some bucks for the cause!  i'll post the other one tomorrow! - half time of the IU-nebraska game - nervous...

four ten-minute pears

in this month's richard robinson challenge, we're to paint pears.  first a value study, then a full color study and finally a timed study.  you had to set a timer and STOP when it went off! - i love those kind of things - janet powers had a do that in her landscape workshop - only i was working quite a bit larger.  so in this post, the value study came first, then the full color and then the ten-minute dudes.  fun -

"The Legend"

24x18

oil on stretched canvas



he was a good player, a great coach and now a fantastic espn color man and radio talk show host for the ages...so here's my homage to the growing legend that is Dan Dakich...it was 1984..it was atlanta...it was the sweet sixteen...it was north carolina...and it was the other legend...michael jordan!!!  we were in florida with our kids on spring break, listening to the game on the radio. we were not a bit surprised at his performance.  he was a very good defender.. kind of like dane fife would be in years to come...now i fudged this image a little bit - i put him a little closer to jordan than he actually was...just for fun...and if he'd played him this closely, he probably wouldn't have been as successful in "eating his lunch"  as people called it.  jordan may have blown by him... but he played off him a little bit...smart...and the rest is history...

part of my "grand" project...

this is lila jane...and i'm sneaking up on her...not quite there yet but thought i'd post what i have so far.  i also tweaked greg's present a bit - darkened the shirt and worked on a few other things.

i think i'm done with this and plan to give it to him on saturday! - getting ready to send danny dakich his big surprise and as soon as i get it off i'll be able to post it here.  i had a lot of fun with it. tomorrow i'm hoping to get back to the christian watford "shot"...i'm having a lot of fun just at the moment....

for my son-in-law.....

this is what i worked on today...my son-in-law, greg, is having a birthday this weekend...i won't say which one...and i wanted to paint something for him...this is an image of greg and joe walking the beach in st. simons..something they love to do...i'm still in the tweaking mode but i'm liking it so far... back to christian tomorrow!

a little more..

it's slow going but i am having fun!!...couldn't do a whole lot today - ventured back to tennis after a hamstring injury in november..it was really good to be out there but i'm not sure i was ready...hoping for the best!...and hoping to get a bit more done on this tomorrow!!

sneaking up....

getting closer...still have a long way to go but i am certainly having fun with this!!  yesterday i delivered lucy's birthday present and today i sent "the resurrection" to tom crean.  putting good vibes out in the universe!  and we beat penn state in happy valley yesterday and are now ranked in the top ten - what fun we are having!!!!

lucy and her horse...

here's what i've been working on for my granddaughter...you can see a bit of the reference photo on the left...her birthday is tomorrow and she'll be a big seven year old!!...and she loves horses....

the "shot"...in progress...

this is the photograph taken by jamie owens (http://www.jscottphotography.com/) of christian's winning shot on december 10 to win by one point at the buzzer...what a moment!!!!  he gave me permission to do a painting from this image and i'll post it as i go along. 

here i've drawn it and am beginning to place some color...i usually like to fill the whole canvas when i begin - this keeps me from falling in love with any one area and give me a good base.  i had to get ready for the game and so ran out of time.  planning to get back at it today if i get my granddaughter's painting underway...she rides a horse and i'm planning a painting of the two of them for her birthday.

the resurrection...

The Resurrection

24x36 oil on stretched canvas

so here's my homage to the kentucky win...one of them...it was an absolute sea of red in there and i'm trying to convey that in a very impressionistic way.  the place was wild and stayed that way for so long - it really felt like the resurrection of IU basketball!! - i'm working on a painting of christian's shot to beat kentucky at the buzzer.  i got permission from the photographer to do a painting and i thought i would document it as i go along.  i'll take a few pix tonight but then i must get ready for the game...  i'll post danny's tomorrow.

i have some surprises...

it was too late when i finished up today to photograph anything...i've been working on an homage to the kentucky game on december 10th - it may look really crazy when i photograph it - lots and lots of RED!!!!...and then i am working on a big surprise for the legendary dan dakich...we've been following him since he was a student at IU...almost 30 years!!...and i am nearly finished with something i hope he'll enjoy!!...i'll be sure and take some pix in the morning...and then on to IU vs. michigan tomorrow night! - for the first time in a long, long while...we are excited about the hoosiers again!!!!!

Dominique...

Dominique

6x6 oil on canvas panel

so here's my painting of my friend ginny's grand...i took a break after we beat kentucky because i'm working on a great big homage to that day in assembly hall - i finally was able to get back to her and fix her eyes - aren't they gorgeous! her mom is panamanian and i think she's quite exotic-looking!!  but oh - that game last night!  they had us whooping and hollering for a while there but couldn't quite sustain it...and "welcome to the big ten, cody!"...poor guy - he's got some quick catching up to do i'm thinking!!  meanwhile davey had shoulder surgery this morning and, not to be outdone, he also had a rotator cuff tear so they had to cut him open...same thing that happened to me so now we're fighting to see who had the bigger tear...he reminded me that i also had a labrum tear so i guess i win! hoping to get soime painting done during his recuperation because he is not demanding at all...only thing is...i'll be cooking for a while...hmmm..i'm thinking we may actually lose some weight!!!  happy new year!!

IU at michigan state

been a while... i think the last time i posted i was working on ginny's granddaughter and her eyes were too far apart.  i think i've nailed them at last and it's too dark to photograph the painting but i promise that will get done tomorrow. my hubby is having shoulder surgery in the morning and he'll be doing a bit of lying around and not that much cooking.  my life is about to change drastically ....hope i can find time to paint!!!  merry christmas and happy new year!...and now on to the game....

getting back to work

well...we've had a lot going on around here...family turmoil...but life is good and getting better...and i'm determined to get back to my "grand" project.  i spent the afternoon painting my friend ginny's youngest grand and just was so totally in love with it...and then i discovered the eyes were too far apart!!!!!...back to the drawing board and hopefully i'll be able to finish it tomorrow.  i did do a bunch of small acrylics for a new kids' shop downtown - "ochild" - lovely people - the took over bob anderson's store on washington...but i totally forgot to even take any pix...just some small cupcakes and fairies - more to come...

happy thanksgiving!!!

my oldest grand, will, is now all of nine years old! - this is his mom's favorite picture of him as a baby and i've done this painting for her...one of many i've done of willie over the years.  my grands are so much fun to paint and i'm hoping to paint lots of my friends' grands over the coming years.  i haven't been able to post much lately...lots of reasons...but we have so much to be thankful for this year...and we are gathering today as a family for our thanksgiving feast!!!  yum!!!

another sea turtle

georgia sea turtle two (SOLD)

8x10 oil on canvas

here's the other painting i did while here in wonderful sunny and windy and a litle bit cold georgia!!!...the thing is, when the sun is out, i have to take off my windbreaker..but then i have to put it right back on when the sun goes under the clouds...and with all this wind that happens ...ALL THE TIME!!!!!....davey and i played jekyl today - we had to wait for the comcast people to arrive and we had the nicest fellow - very non- comcast-ish, i must say...so we didn't get to tee off til quite late but had a very fun time!!  we're already almost in "packing" mode....getting ready to depart the island ...never to return...until next spring...

we're in georgia...

georgia sea turtle (SOLD)

8x10 oil on canvas

so here we are in sunny and cold and windy st. simons...just played a fabulous course - frederica - very private and exclusive and we're lucky to be good buddies with some members...we've played jekyl and a couple rounds at sea island....trying to squeeze the very last drops out of the golf season before we venture back to indiana.  i did a couple sea turtle paintings while i've been here - this is one of them - i'll post the other later.  off to dinner so i have to run!~!!!

reins for recovery

12x12 oil on gallery wrap canvas

NFS

i ran into an old friend the other day whose son is big into horses.  he's volunteering for an organization called http://www.reinstorecovery.org/ .  they are holding a fund raiser this weekend and i offered to do a painting for them.  this will be tweaked a tiny bit ..i need to pull some of the green in the sky down into the rest of the painting for color unity and the mane in the sunlight needs to be more colorful but this is a pretty good idea of what it will be llike when its finished.

Chinaman's Bluff

16x20 oil on stretched canvas

i just posted this on the richard robinson challenge page.  this is the second month of this on-line workshop and last month i had so much stuff going on i didn't have a chance to enter til very late...hopefully i can get some feedback from some of the painters world-wide who are a part of this.  it's so cool...i was emailing back and forth with richard..in freakin' new zealand!!!!!....isn't this technology something???...i may tweak it a bit...usually once i get a photo of what i'm working on, i see what needs to be done...we'll see what the others have to say!

Teein'it up!!

11x14 oil on canvas panel

this little guy is really into it, isn't he???  i think the golf club is at least as long as he is!!  wish i'd started that young..

cousins...on the beach...

11x14 oil on stretched canvas

i love this image!! - this is taken from a photo my friend shelli let me borrow...they are actually HER grands..all dressed up and walking hand-in-hand on the beach.  i may take this to my gallery in indy...don't know yet..

Lucy

6x6 oil on canvas panel

so here's my painting of lucy...i've painted all of these kids several times and i never tire of it! - this one goes to dave and olivia, her other grandparents.  i've been working on a few things which i will post in the next few days...finally have had some bad weather so i could get up to my studio!!

willie

6x6 oil on canvas panel

so here's my grandson willie...this is part of my "grand" project...i'm painting this for will's other set of grandparents, dave and olivia.  i hope they enjoy having this as much as i enjoyed painting it for them!

In the Wings

12x9

oil on stretched canvas

so this is a painting i took off the wall yesterday...it was bothering me...a little boring...so i thought it could use some jazzing up and this is the result.  now i'm happy with it!!

Winter Sentinel

11x14

oil on stretched canvas

so today i finished richard robinson's challenge painting..actually he is holding an on-line workshop and i signed up weeks ago for september but haven't had a chance to get to it til this weekend.  i'm trying to upload it to his site and having problems. we all painted the same image from a photo he posted.  we were free to change it, crop it, to take artistic license wherever needed...and it was lots of fun.  i've enjoyed reading the posts - people from all over the world are participating in this and it's a bit mindboggling!  so far there are 84 entries...all very different..and mine will be the 85th..if it ever shows up.  and tomorrow is the last day to enter your painting.  wish me luck!  

sleeping babies...

8x10 oil on canvas panel

so i think i'm done with this one.  hopefully it will dry in time to send it off with them - if not, i'll mail it and it should beat them home since they're taking their time getting back to oz.  a real round the world trip...such fun!!  i've been glued all day to the 911 remembrance stuff - it's riveting and i remember exactly that morning like it was yesterday.  i hope we never ever forget!! - off for a walk and then to tillie's birthday party!!

tils and ols in progress...

this is a painting in progress of two of my grands..matilda and oliver...sound asleep.  i need to get this finished in the next day or so...tillie's aussie grandparents are visiting and i want to be able to send this home with them midweek....and the weather is finally turning..i can feel Fall coming on and that means less golf and more painting!! can't wait...in a way...

happy birthday carol marine

so a couple weeks ago, david marine set up a challenge to surprise his wife carol for her birthday.  we could paint anything we wanted..and i wanted to paint her!! - but then things were happening with my friend sukey...she was preparing to head to heaven and i was not prepared to paint..for quite a while.. carol marine is one of the driving forces of the daily painting phenomenon...along with her husband david...and this painting is taken from her website and blog photo...such a happy gal...

6x6 oil on canvas panel

so sad....

me friend sukey went to heaven friday night.  she waged her battle against a vicious disease with courage and grace and she will be missed! our love and prayers are with her family.

chocolate cupcake..in progress...

5x5 oil on gallery wrap canvas

so we've been on the road a bit lately...my hubby had to testify as an expert witness in a trial on tuesday...so we wended our way down to scenic Owensboro, Kentucky.  the drive was beautiful and, even though we're IU people and HATE kentucky...the people were beautiful as well....and friendly!!!..i stopped in three shops near the courthouse..one on frederica - where they were so friendly and accomodating and actually taught me how to take a picture with my Iphone!!..then i went down to 2nd street to find the promised antique stores....some of which were open..some not so much...but i did happen upon two wonderful places...one is called Crowne gifts and events...and rosemary the owner couldn't have been nicer.  i bought a fantastic and strange ceramic statue of a lady which i snuck in to the floor of the back seat and almost made it home without davey seeing it.... but i digress...rosemary sent me to a place down the street called c-ing polka dots..owned by carol reader.  both shops were chock full of very fun and unique stuff and i'm happy to report that i'm going to be painting for carol - she particularly wanted me to do some cupcakes so here's my first piece..in progress.(and sorry for the hazy picture..i snapped it this evening and the sun is low)..i may add polkadots to the backgroud...any thoughts or suggestions?...anyway - we are at the lake for a few days - trying to fit in a bit of golf and a bit of painting...and if you are even in owensboro, kentucky...you simply MUST  stop in at these two very fun and unique shops...actually you can see the polka dot place at http://www.c-ingpolkadots.com/ .  very cool!!!!

Ella

Ella

6x6 original oil NFS

this is for my friend sukey.  this is her granddaughter ella and i wanted to paint this to go along with the piece i did of her grandson jackson.  they are two beautiful children and they were a joy to paint!! 

Bria's Ride...

11x14 oil on stretched canvas

so here's my finished painting for Bria's Ride - i like this and i hope it brings some good money for Bria's medical expenses.  i love that the Harley folks are so into charity work - very impressive!!

road trip..

i've been working on my painting for "bria's ride"...i posted one i did last year around this time - very cool..just the handlebars of a harley at night...it went over very well at the silent auction i heard!!....so i'm doing one of a rider tearing off into the distance and i was going to post it but after seeing it through the camera's eye, i want to tweak it a bit...maybe tomorrow if i have time.  the ride is the 13th so i still have a bit of time and i may or may not get to it tomorrow.  we head out to visit our good friends tim and katie in michigan tomorrow and we always get together with a bunch of high school buddies..i am so damn lucky to still be so close to these people!! anyway - then on to the cottage to celebrate my brother john's wedding to his fiance karen...should be lots of fun but there will be no chance for painting in the next several days.  meanwhile my knee is on the mend - still limping around but every day brings promise...as my mom used to say.."every day, in every way...i'm getting better and better...."